Kevin has written a few
blogs about trying to alter his lifestyle and become more fit as he approaches
40 in the next couple of months. While I still have a year to go before hitting
the milestone, I myself have been saying I need to change up my habits and lead
a healthier lifestyle. The big question was how did I want to implement this
change and could I stick with it. <>>

Last August, a friend gave
me the P90X workout. I started doing the daily workouts and had a good routine
going for about two weeks. Then my chaotic lifestyle kicked in again and I was
having trouble finding time to squeeze in a workout just one day a week. Needless to say I stopped even trying
to convince myself I was going to be able to achieve the goals I had set for
myself and went back to living my normal life. <>>

As the end of the year drew
near, I started thinking about new year resolutions and with Kevin doing his
ďFacing 40Ē series, I found a motivation to stop making excuses and follow
through with getting into shape. After all, I canít have Kevin showing me up
in New Jersey for Geek Week. Heís the married one with kids. Iím
supposed to be the cool one. Right? <>>

Initially I had planned on
going back to P90X. I knew the workouts and they were something I could do at
home on my own schedule. The problem quickly arose where instead of staying
home at night as I planned, I was once again finding myself going out with
friends to movies or special events and not getting home until 11:00 at the
earliest. Doing an hour-long high impact workout at that time just wouldnít
work. I thought maybe I could get up an hour earlier every day and do the
workout at 5:30. However, because I am usually awake every half hour starting
around 2am, I could never motivate my body to get out of bed at 5:30. Two weeks
into the new year and I had only done one work out. It was looking like my lack
of focus and determination would come back to sabotage me once again. <>>

One day while talking about
my lack of workouts with a co-worker, he mentioned he had just gotten the DDP
Yoga DVDs and was going to give them a try. I knew former wrestler ďDiamondĒ
Dallas Page had come up with a yoga routine, but I had never actually looked
into finding out what it entailed. Doing a quick YouTube search, I found the
video of Arthur Boorman, a former paratrooper who went from not being able to
walk without assistance to

being able to run.

I was
intrigued to know if DDP Yoga was really that good or if Arthurís story was the
exception to the rule. After watching some other videos and reading blogs from
people trying DDP Yoga, I decided to order the DVDs and give it a try. <>>

One of the aspects I was
most intrigued with is DDP Yoga is a No Impact workout. I was born without the
upper part of my right hipbone. As a result, my right leg is about 1.5cm
shorter than my left. It also means I have less range of motion in my right hip
and have occasional hip pains. One of the issues I found with the P90X workouts
was the amount of lunges would usually cause my hip to flare up in pain. I have
been advised by my doctor in the past to do normal activities and if I
experienced pain to stop. Basically I need to not take it too easy because I
need to strengthen the hip as much as possible. Getting back to the DDP Yoga
program, I was curious to see if Iíd be able to perform the yoga positions with
my hip not having full range of motion and if the moves would produce pain. <>>

I borrowed my co-workers DVD
and went through the Diamond Dozen, which are the 12 basic positions/moves,
used in the workouts. There was only one move that I couldnít do as well as I
had hope. With a confidence that I would be able to do the workouts, I went
ahead and order all three DVDs, bought a heart monitor and then waited for my
package to arrive. <>>

The DVDs arrived on Tuesday
and it was time to take the first step to living 90% as DDP says. I started off
with a refresher of the Diamond Dozen before moving onto the Energy workout. For about the first half of the program
I questioned if this would really work as I didnít feel like I was working out.
By the end of the workout though, I had worked up a sweat and could feel my
body asking was going on, as it wasnít used to being this active. This morning
I woke up and did the Wake Up mini-workout. <>>

In addition to being No
Impact, the workouts appear to be 20-30 minutes long, which will hopefully be
easier to accommodate my schedule, though I have done well the past two weeks
of not being as crazy busy. Plus, technically the DDP Yoga system is scheduled
for every other day though as DDP mentions, you can customize the workouts
depending to fit your schedule. <>>

Itís only been one day, but
given the relative ease of the workouts, the fact Iím putting this out for the
world to see so Iíll have some accountability as I donít want to look like a
quitter, and my personal competition with Kevin, I can see myself sticking with
it and hopefully Iíll get the results Iím aiming to achieve. The hardest part
will be changing my eating habits. As a confirmed bachelor who is used to fast
food and take out, actually buying groceries and cooking meals could take some
time to become a normal occurrence. <>>

My goal is to provide
updates every 30 days. If I have success with this, hopefully itíll help
someone else who is trying to lead a healthier life. For more information on
DDP Yoga, click here. If
you have success stories of your own or are trying to get in shape/live
healthier yourself and want to share your progress, let us know on the
My123Cents Facebook page or Twitter. <>>